Monday, May 31, 2010

My husband is really in the mood for a New York deli style salami sandwich. To make this type of sandwich, take great rye or pumpernickel bread, extremely thin-sliced salami, and add tasty deli mustard. We had our BBQ yesterday, so this sounded like a fun dinner for this Monday day off.

I haven't seen these breads in Northeast Tennessee. People here tend to like sweet breads, not savory breads like these. When you bake your own breads, you can have any kind of bread you want-- whenever you want! I love the recipes in "Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day" for these two breads. Some people feel that these breads are among the best in the book.

It's been awhile since I made these breads. Like other people in our baking group, we tried experimenting with other recipes and techniques. It's great to get back to basic breads!

I made the dough last night. I had about 1/2 pound of master dough from "Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day" that was about 10 days old, and added it as starter for the bread. Also, I felt that refrigerating it overnight would help the flavor.

I was only going to make enough dough for 2 loaves of deli rye. But as long as I had the rye flour out, I thought I would try the pumpernickel loaf again. Last time, it didn't turn out dark enough. This time, I measured with measuring spoons/cups and not by weight. I found that I hadn't used enough expresso coffee powder and cocoa last time.

I used the letter fold technique for the rye bread, and it gave me a nice long loaf. I was dissappointed after it baked, however, because I felt it would only make small sandwiches. I had hoped it would rise more. I think that next time, I will try bread flour instead of the recommended all-purpose flour.

My hubby came to the rescue, and made submarine-type sandwiches. He cut about 1/3 of the bread off, and then cut it horizontally for his sandwich.

The salami sandwiches tasted great with our favorite deli mustard! We served them with our special recipe of fresh cole slaw.

The bread was absolutely wonderful. It had a nice crust, without being crunchy. The inside was soft and had the flavor of the caraway seeds. Truly a wonderful combination!

I can't wait until tomorrow, when I plan to have an egg salad sandwich on the pumpernickel bread!

YUM!

About the HBinFive Baking Group

The HBinFive Baking Group, started by Michelle of Big Black Dogs, is baking through all of the breads in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book. For more information on the HBinFive baking group, check out BigBlackDog.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Rather than make the assigned focaccia bread for our baking group, I decided to make a familiar recipe. We are thinking of having hot dogs again, and I needed to make buns.

I made the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread dough from Healthy Breads in 5 Minutes a Day. That made great buns last time. I decided to use white whole wheat flour for the whole wheat portion this time.

I made the dough, and put it in the fridge overnight to improve the flavor. My husband didn't buy the giant hot dogs this time, so I decided to use less dough for the buns. I used only 2 - 2 1/2 ounce pieces of dough.

They look just great! I can't wait to get those hot dogs on the BBQ!

Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Challah

I needed a bread for tonight's dinner. Since I had a lot of the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Dough, I decided to see if it would make a twisted bread shape. The book says to bake it in a loaf pan.

It took a bit extra flour to keep the ropes from sticking, but I was able to make a 2-rope braid. I let it rise, put egg wash on it, and topped it with a sesame seed/poppy seed mixture. It should be great!

I am really glad for this baking group, because I am becoming more confident and experimenting more. Before, I wouldn't deviate from the recipe. This time, I tried a different shape for the bread and a different size for the buns.

About the HBinFive Baking Group

The HBinFive Baking Group, started by Michelle of Big Black Dogs, is baking through all of the breads in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book. For more information on the HBinFive baking group, check out BigBlackDog.

One of the assignments for our Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day baking group is to make garlic knots. The recipe is found on page 87 of the book.

I had heard a comment from another member that the parsley had burned while baking, so decided not to use that. Also, I decided to use all white whole wheat. Also, I didn't have the special cheese. Therefore, I omitted it.

I sauteed the garlic in olive oil and let it cool while I shaped the knots and let them rise. Next time, I think I will make a pretzel shape. Then, I poured the garlic-infused olive oil onto the knots. I tried to include some of the garlic.

I baked it for 30 minutes, while I went to do some things on the computer. When time was up, I saw that the garlic had burned. Darn! Well, I hope it won't hurt the flavor.

It was wonderful to have the smell of garlic in the kitchen! We thought the garlic knots were really tasty. They make a great snack!

About the HBinFive Baking Group

The HBinFive Baking Group, started by Michelle of Big Black Dogs, is baking through all of the breads in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book. For more information on the HBinFive baking group, check out BigBlackDog.

Challah is my favorite bread to make! Some sweet, eggy recipes remind people of cake.

I took a trip to visit friends and relatives in Los Angeles recently. I decided to cook for my hosts, as a thank you for letting me stay with them. I brought all kinds of easy recipes, which they all loved. I was happy to find that the cooking relaxed me during a stressful time, and decided to bake my specialty--challah--for them.

It's really helpful, when I am busy, to make the challah dough recipe from "Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day" on an evening and bake it the next morning. Since I flew from the east coast to the west coast, getting up early was no problem! I was up at 5a.m., shaping the breads!

I decided to make 2 challahs. One would be plain, and the other would be chocolate chip. I picked up the ingredients at the store, and was so happy to be making dough again!

I rolled the dough for the chocolate chip challah into a rectangle, sprinkled it with chocolate chips and sugar. Then I rolled it into a log. I cut the log in half and then rolled the pieces into longer ropes. The ropes were braided using a 2-strand braid. I topped off the braid with egg wash, then more sugar. The chocolate chip challah is in the foreground of the picture.

I didn't get a chance to taste these particular challahs, but I made 2 identical ones at a friend's house later that afternoon. I learned something while baking with my friend. Although I have been a strong supporter of using margarine in challah, I was able to tweak the flavors to get the taste I want with oil. I'll be using oil in the future, as it is easier to use and costs less.

Everyone was in love with the flavors! The chocolate chips were still slightly melted--it was an incredible challah! Some people had more for dessert.

I came back to the home of my hosts to find that they had eaten both challahs. At first, they wanted more. But then we all started seeing that the pounds were creeping up from all my cooking and baking. So we decided to eat more low calorie.

Therefore, I began baking for my sister and other relatives! They couldn't believe how good my challahs were. My sister said they were better than a bakery. People said that I inherited my mother's baking skills, and that's quite a complement. It was great for friends and relatives in LA to finally know why people in my current area love my challah. And it was fabulous stress relief--making all those stock pots (the 5 qt container I had available) of dough to use.

I am so glad to be back to challah baking again! It's been 6 months for me, and I love it.

If you want to see more of the "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" baking group's projects sponsored by Michelle of Big Black Dog, click on this link:

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

One of the upcoming assignments for the Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day baking group is this Moon and Stars bread. It's made with the "master" dough.

For the dough, I used half white whole wheat flour and half regular whole wheat flour for the whole wheat portion. I had purchased several bags of white whole wheat flour at a recent Trader Joe's visit. I like the way it "bakes up."

I made a double batch of dough. This assignment works well for me right now. I had promised some breads to some people--my gardener, my roofer, my accountant..... I like making this master dough because it's so quick to put together. The crescent moon shape is so pretty, and the sesame seeds are the stars. It makes a nice presentation!

I used the letter fold method of making a smooth taper. It works so much better than making an oval. In addition, I used parchment paper instead of cornmeal. When the shape is important, as in this bread, I would prefer using parchment paper. My breads have been known to "catch" on the peel and become slightly misshapen when using cornmeal.

Can't wait to try it, and give some breads away!

To see what other members have made this month, check out this link for the other baking blogs: